Safety cabinet for storing drums

ABSTRACT

A cabinet for storing drums. The cabinet is equipped with tracks and stoppers making it possible to handle the drums on a cradle in the cabinet. The cabinet is safety fused to automatically cause its door to close under inclemently hot ambient conditions.

United States Patent Inventor Clarence E. Williams Chicago, Ill.

App]. No. 844,844

Filed July 25, 1969 Patented Nov. 30, 1971 Assignee Justrite Mfg. Co.

Chicago, Ill.

SAFETY CABINET FOR STORING DRUMS 10 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 312/307, 312/294,?512/138 lnLCl A47h 81/00 Field of Swrch 312/307. 251, 237, 310, 321. 336, 311, 300; 214/17". 296/1 Primary Examiner-James T. McCall Allorne vAlter and Weiss ABSTRACT: A cabinet for storing drums. The cabinet is equipped with tracks and stoppers making it possible to handle the drums on a cradle in the cabinet. The cabinet is safety fused to automatically cause its door to close under inclemently hot ambient conditions.

PATENTED N0v30 Ian sum 1 or 2 FIG-J INVENTOR CLARENCE E. WILLIAMS wwm ATTORNEYS PATENTED NUV30 l97| SHEET 2 0F 2 INVENTOR FIG.4 CLARENCE E. WILLIAMS Ma/W ATTORNEYS SAFETY CABINET FOR STORING DRUMS This invention relates to safety storage cabinets and more particularly to safety storage cabinets especially amenable to the storage of drums and similar containers.

Flammable fluids generally are supplied in SO-gallon containers or drums. For safety purposes it is desirable to store these drums in safety cabinets, that is in cabinets having doors that automatically close under adverse ambient temperature conditions. Such storage of the large drums would of course prevent or restrict the spread of many fires in plants using flammable materials and fluids. However, there are problems which readily appear in the storing of such drums in cabinets. In the first place the drums themselves are relatively clumsy objects, heavy and hard to move. Thus, it is difficult to place them in the cabinets, and when in the cabinets, it is difficult to utilize them conveniently for obtaining the fluids from the drums whenever required. Furthermore, there are many safety ordinances or laws restricting the use of drums and cabinets for drums. Drum cradle trucks which are designed to grasp a drum in its upright position and pivotally move the drum into a horizontal position so that the fluids therein may be conveniently acquired as required are available. Problems arise in using safety cabinets and the cradles simultaneously. For example, many of the safety ordinances preclude the use of ramps in the trucking of the drums. This ordinance is designed to prevent the inadvertent dropping of the drum or the rolling of the cradle truck with the drum thereon onto the operator of the cradle truck.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide safety cabinets for storing drums or the like and maintaining the drums convenient to constant usage.

A related object of the invention is to provide safety cabinets which can accommodate the drums on the wellknown drum cradle trucks.

A further object of the invention is to provide safety storage cabinets for storing drums or the like wherein means are provided in the safety cabinet for retaining the drum cradle trucks in place, for conveniently enabling the trucks loaded with the drums to be located within the safety cabinet, and for automatically closing the doors of the cabinet responsive to the rise of the ambient heat condition above a certain predetermined level.

Briefly, a preferred embodiment of this invention accomplishes these and other objects by means of a cabinet having an access opening therein. The cabinet further being equipped with foldable doors that are biased to normally close. A fusible link retains the doors in an open position except when inclemently hot ambient conditions cause the fusible link to melt, thereby releasing the doors to automatically close the cabinet. The cabinet is further provided with track means on the floor thereof enabling a cradle truck bearing a drum thereon to be located within the cabinet while maintaining the drum on the truck in a horizontal readily accessible position.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention and the manner of attaining will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. I shows in pictorial form the safety cabinet for storing drums or the like in a drum cradle truck;

FIG. 2 is a partial sectional view of the front bottom portion of the safety cabinet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the safety cabinet of FIG. 1 with the top plate of the cabinet cut away, and

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional side view of a portion of the bottom of the safety cabinet of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings wherein like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the safety storage cabinet of my invention, which is illustrated in pictorial form in FIG. 1. The cabinet 10 is shown comprising a pair of sidewalls ll, 12 respectively. A rear wall 13 extends between the sidewalls and is attached to the sidewalls in any well-known manner. A top plate 14 is provided and extends between the sidewalls and from the rear wall to the very front of the sidewalls. An access opening 16 is provided at the front of the cabinet to enable access to the inside of the cabinet. The access opening is defined by strips at substantially right angles to the walls and top of the cabinet as well as by a strip extending between the sidewalls at the bottom of the cabinet. More particularly access opening 16 is defined by the front strips 17 and 18 at right angles to the sidewalls 11 and 12 respectively. In addition, a right angle portion 19 of the top plate 14 frames the top of the access opening 16. A strip 21 extending between strips 17, 18 defines the bottom of the access opening 16.

Means are provided for selectively closing the access opening. More particularly, safety door 22 is attached to the access opening by means of hinge 23 and support bearing 24.

Door 22 comprises a first panel 26 and a second panel 27. The panels are hingedly attached together with hinge 28. Hinge 28 is provided with resilient means such as springs 29 which are biased in a manner causing the door to normally slidably close unless it is retained open in some manner.

Means are provided to maintain the door opened against the spring forces. More particularly fusible link means 31 extend-' ing between panels 26 and 27 maintains the door open unless the fusible link is removed from connection with one of the panels, or unless the fusible link melts because of inclemently high temperature conditions.

As shown in FIG. 3 a fusible link 31 retains the doors in the open position. The links may be utilized in many ways to keep the doors open. As shown in FIG. 3, it is pivotally attached to panel 27 and extends from panel 27 to panel 26 where it is hooked over pin 32 at notch 33 in the fusible link. The pivotal attachment is accomplished by rotatably mounting the link 31 onto pin 34 fixedly mounted on panel 27.

Means are provided for sliding the first door panel along the access opening and for supporting the door during its opening and closing operations. More particularly, a raillike lip 35 is provided extending from top plate 14 of the cabinet over the front portion 19. Lip 35 may be integral to top plate 14 or may be attached to top plate 14 in any well-known manner. The lip 35 is shaped to rotatably support bearing 24 therein during opening, closing and in fact during any movement of the door.

The cabinet is specifically designed to accommodate a drum cradle truck such as drum cradle truck 36 shown in FIG. I. The drum cradle truck shown is typical of trucks that are commercially available at the present time. The truck 36 comprises a pair of wheel axles 37, 38 shown with steel wheels such as top wheels 39. An arcuately shaped frame member such as member 41 is mounted on the axles at each side of said truck. Angular L-shaped frame members comprising perpendicular pieces 42, 43 extend from the top to the bottom of the arcuately shaped frame 41. Crossmembers 44 and 46 which are also arcuately shaped to receive drum thereon extend from the member 42 on one side of the drum cradle truck to member 42a at the other side of the drum cradle truck. Attached to cross number 46 is a pipe receiving receptacle 47 specifically designed to receive pipelike handle 48 therein. A hook member 49 is fixedly attached to handle member 48 and adapted for grasping the lip of a drum.

In practice the wedgelike leading edge 51 of frame member 41 is slipped underneath the drum to facilitate lifting the drum onto the cradle portion comprising crossmembers 44 and 46. With leading edges 51 underneath the bottom of the drum, hook 49 is attached to the top lip of the drum. Bottom truck wheels 39a act as fulcrums and handle 48 as a lever for lifting the drum onto the drum cradle truck.

The drum cradle truck is then wheeled toward the open cabinet. When the bottom of the cradle drum truck is aligned with the access opening 16 of the cabinet, a downward force is applied to handle 48 to bring the handle to the horizontal position with the drum mounted on the cross members 44 and 46. A continued downward force applied to handle 48 causes the truck to pivot around wheels 39 acting as fulcrum to lift wheel 39a upward away from the floor. With axle 38 and wheels 39a lifted upward, the truck is pushed until wheels 39a make contact with tracks 52 and 53 which make up the floor portion of cabinet 10. When the wheels 39a are firmly in place, a lifting force is applied to handle 48 thereby lifting wheels 39 onto tracks 52 and 53.

Means are provided for retaining the wheels on the tracks. More specifically, side flanges 54 and 56 define tracks 52 and 53 respectively. First flange means such as flange 57 and 58 are provided at the front bottom of the access opening and act to guide wheels 39a onto the tracks.

Means are provided for stopping the truck prior to the time the truck would strike the back wall. More particularly, stop means such as stops 59, 61 are provided towardsthe rear of tracks 52 and 53 respectively. The stops are designed to contact the wheels 39a as the truck is shoved into the cabinet. Handle receiving tube 47 is slotted to enable handle 48 to be shoved further into the receiving tube when hook 49 is keyed into the slot. Thus, the handle does not obstruct the door on closing.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the tracks which run parallel to each other are spaced apart and each track comprises an inverted channel having flanges 62, 63 at each side of the channel such as is shown on track 52. The inverted channel comprises downwardly extending vertical sides 64 and 64a and a horizontal top portion 66. Side flanges, such as flange 54, are attached to the sides of the inverted channel by means of welding, or any other well-known means of attachment.

The tracks are made to be able to support a fully loaded drum on the cradle truck without buckling. The tracks are mounted on a base plate 67. The means of mounting can be with threaded fasteners passing through the flanges or by means of welding or the like.

In FIG. 3, the top view of the cabinet, with a portion of the top plate 14 removed shows that the floor section of the cabinet comprises the parallel tracks 52, 53 having the stops 59, 61 toward the inner ends thereof; and the side flanges 54, 56 at the inner sides of tracks for maintaining the wheels of the truck on the track.

FIG. 3 also shows that the sidewalls are each actually hollow sections. For example, sidewall 11 comprises outer wall 11a and inner wall 11b. These walls are joined together in any well-known manner. The double wall adds to the safety feature of the cabinet. Vents are provided to assure proper ventilation of the cabinet so as to preclude any buildup of noxious or explosive vapors within the cabinet. For example, upper vent 71 and lower vent 72 are provided in the sidewalls 11 and 12, respectively.

As best seen in FIG. 4, means such as lip 71 are provided on from section 21 for receiving the wheels of the truck. These means are of same height above the base plate 67 as are tracks 52. The lip 71 may be integral to front plate 21. Front plate 71 may extend completely down so that its bottom is aligned with the bottom of the sidewalls, or it may be coupled to an apron section which has its bottom aligned to the bottom of the sidewall.

Means are provided for maintaining the safety storage cabinet in a true horizontal plate. More particularly adjustable legs such as adjustable legs 74, 76 shown in FIG. 2 and 74, 77 shown in FIG. 4 are provided. These legs are the well-known type so that the length of the legs can be adjusted to compensate for any unevenness of the floor on which the cabinet rests.

In use then the drum is gripped and placed on the handtruck as previously described, and the handtruck is placed within the cabinet as previously described. The cabinet door, is shown equipped with a handle means 78 which operates a latch that may hook on to a locking portion. Both the latch and the locking portions operate through slots 79, 81 on the sides of the door panels 26, 27. With the door open and the drum in the cabinet, the handle 48 of the truck is inserted fully into receptacle 47. Fluid is removed from the drum as needed.

Ill/Ill The door is maintained in its open position with link 31. To close the door the link 31 is disconnected, and springs 29 cause the door to be forced closed.

If while the door is open, a fire breaks out in the vicinity of the cabinet, the excessive heat will cause the link 31 to melt and the door will automatically close keeping the fire either within the cabinet or keeping contents of the drum safe from fire within the cabinet. In other words, isolating the contents of the cabinet, which in this case happens to be the drum from the fire.

While I have described the above principles of my invention in connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understood that this description is made only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of my invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A safety cabinet for storing drums of flammable fluids while the drums are mounted on drum cradle truck,

said drum cradle truck comprising a pair of runners, each runner having a pair of wheels and an uprising, arcuate front part for guiding the front end of said truck up and over an obstacle,

receptacle means on said truck for receiving a removable handle, said handle including means for engaging and capturing a drum on said truck,

said cabinet having an access opening for receiving the drums while mounted on the drum cradle trucks,

track means on the floor of said cabinet for cooperating with said arcuate runners, guiding, and supporting the wheels of the truck,

door closing means for automatically closing the doors responsive to excess heat. 7

2. The safety cabinet of claim 1 wherein the door means are spring biased so that said doors are normally forced closed and wherein said door closing means includes means for maintaining the door means in an open position against the force of said biasing means.

3. The safety cabinet of claim 2 wherein said means for maintaining said door means in the open position comprises fusible link means, and

said fusible link fusing at a certain predetermined temperature.

4. The safety cabinet of claim 3 wherein said door means comprises a door having a plurality of sections,

means for hingedly coupling said door sections,

means for hingedly coupling at least one of said door sections to said cabinet,

means for spring biasing said means for hingedly coupling said door sections to normally maintain said door in the closed position, and

means for slidably supporting said door sections to the cabinet.

5. The safety cabinet of claim 4 wherein said track means are raised above the floor of said cabinet.

6. The safety cabinet of claim 5 wherein guide means are provided to retain the truck wheels on said tracks.

7. The safety cabinet of claim 6 where said guide means include front guide means for guiding said wheels onto the tracks when the first set of wheels of said truck are placed into said cabinet.

8. The safety cabinet of claim 7 wherein stops are provided on said tracks to prevent the truck from bumping into the back wall of said cabinet.

9. The safety cabinet of claim 8 wherein vent holes are provided in the walls of said cabinet thereby preventing the accumulation of dangerous fumes within the cabinet, and also enabling quicker closing of said door means.

10. The safety cabinetof claim 8 wherein three of said walls of said cabinet comprise double wall sections with a communicating dead air space therein. 

1. A safety cabinet for storing drums of flammable fluids while the drums are mounted on drum cradle truck, said drum cradle truck comprising a pair of runners, each runner having a pair of wheels and an uprising, arcuate front part for guiding the front end of said truck up and over an obstacle, receptacle means on said truck for receiving a removable handle, said handle including means for engaging and capturing a drum on said truck, said cabinet having an access opening for receiving the drums while mounted on the drum cradle trucks, track means on the floor of said cabinet for cooperating with said arcuate runners, guiding, and supporting the wheels of the truck, door closing means for automatically closing the doors responsive to excess heat.
 2. The safety cabinet of claim 1 wherein the door means are spring biased so that said doors are normally forced closed and wherein said door closing means includes means for maintaining the door means in an open position against the force of said biasing means.
 3. The safety cabinet of claim 2 wherein said means for maintaining said door means in the open position comprises fusible link means, and said fusible link fusing at a certain predetermined temperature.
 4. The safety cabinet of claim 3 wherein said door means comprises a door having a plurality of sections, means for hingedly coupling said door sections, means for hingedly coupling at least one of said door sections to said cabinet, means for spring biasing said means for hingedly coupling said door sections to normally maintain said door in the closed position, and means for slidably supporting said door sections to the cabinet.
 5. The safety cabinet of claim 4 wherein said track meanS are raised above the floor of said cabinet.
 6. The safety cabinet of claim 5 wherein guide means are provided to retain the truck wheels on said tracks.
 7. The safety cabinet of claim 6 where said guide means include front guide means for guiding said wheels onto the tracks when the first set of wheels of said truck are placed into said cabinet.
 8. The safety cabinet of claim 7 wherein stops are provided on said tracks to prevent the truck from bumping into the back wall of said cabinet.
 9. The safety cabinet of claim 8 wherein vent holes are provided in the walls of said cabinet thereby preventing the accumulation of dangerous fumes within the cabinet, and also enabling quicker closing of said door means.
 10. The safety cabinet of claim 8 wherein three of said walls of said cabinet comprise double wall sections with a communicating dead air space therein. 